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NEWS

Drivers have the option to pay double fine to avoid court date

Motorists head towards the traffic lights at Newlands Cross and the N7 route to Cork and Limerick, as they come off the M50 and the Red Cow Junction | Image: RollingNews.ie

11:57 20 Dec 2016
Kenneth Fox
11:57 Tuesday 20 December 2016

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald will give motorists the option to pay a double fine in return for avoiding a court date.

The new proposal is aimed at closing a current loophole in law which has seen thousands of road traffic cases being thrown out by judges.

Under current law any driver that fails to pay their fine within 56 days of the offence are summoned to appear in court.

Before the court case they are given two options to pay their fine. Thousands of people escaped convictions and penalty points by simply telling the judge they did not receive the original fixed-charge notice.

A move to close this loophole was originally brought up during the summer but it didn’t make its way to cabinet.

Mr. Fitzgerald will bring a memo to the cabinet today which proposes to introduce a new payment option where drivers can now pay double the original fine to avoid a court appearance.

A Government source recently spoke about the proposal saying "The early introduction of the 'third payment option' has strong policy and operational support,"